New parking tower at Jeju Dongmun Market for garlic oranda snacks

After wrapping up our Jeju trip, before heading to the airport, my husband, our baby and I stopped by Dongmun Market to pick up gifts for people back home. I wanted something a bit more special than the usual chocolate souvenirs.

A friend recommended Cheongchuni Oranda Dongmun Market Main Branch Tapdong (청춘이오란다 동문시장본점 탑동) as really good, so I decided to check it out myself.

Where to park at Dongmun Market: using the new public parking tower

I remember parking being a headache the last time I visited Dongmun Market, but this time I used the newly built public parking tower. There was decent open space, and it's connected to the existing lot by an indoor passage, which made it easy to get into the market. Coming out on the first floor and walking down the alley to the left, I reached the shop quickly while browsing the market along the way.

Handmade oranda every day, right in front of you with an open kitchen

Even on a weekday afternoon, customers kept coming in to buy oranda. In the back, staff were making, cutting and packaging the oranda right there — an open kitchen, which honestly put my mind at ease.

Tasting it: not the hard, sticky texture I expected

There was plenty of sample oranda set out, so I could compare several flavors before buying. I always thought of oranda as hard and prone to sticking to your teeth, but eating it here, it bit much softer than expected — crisp yet moist, totally different from the oranda I knew. The owner even threw in an extra square yuzu oranda, saying the pieces had come out small, which felt like real warmth and generosity.

Oranda flavors and the gift set lineup

The shop had a wide range: square oranda in yuzu, mixed nuts, garlic and gamtae seaweed flavors, plus donut-shaped oranda in hallabong citrus, green tea and carrot-chocolate. There was also yuzu gwajul (fried rice-syrup snack) and bulk oranda, so it was easy to pick both gift items and something to eat at home.

We ended up buying a four-flavor oranda gift set to share with friends, plus a bulk pack of garlic oranda. The gift set packaging was neat and tidy, and the bulk pack had a generous amount — perfect for sharing with a group.

How were the garlic oranda and yuzu oranda?

The moment we got in the car, I dug into the yuzu oranda we'd gotten as a freebie. It had a subtle yuzu aroma, tasting fresh and soft, easy to eat without feeling heavy. But my favorite was the garlic oranda. The spicy kick of the garlic chips mixed with sweet jocheong (rice syrup) reminded me a little of garlic baguette, and I kept reaching for more, haha.

Back home, we shared it with friends, and a lot of them said it wasn't hard and was easy to eat, and that they were surprised the garlic flavor was actually tasty since it was their first time trying it. The reaction was so good some even asked where we'd bought it — glad I picked it as the gift.

Overall thoughts on Cheongchuni Oranda Dongmun Market branch

• The new public parking tower made getting to the market convenient
• We could watch the oranda being made right in the shop
• The texture was crisp and soft rather than hard
• Multiple flavors were available to sample before buying
• Both a neat gift set and a generous bulk pack were available
• Both the garlic and yuzu oranda got great reactions from friends

If you're heading to the airport and want a Jeju Dongmun Market gift that's easy to share with a group instead of the usual souvenirs, this place is worth a stop.